Stag Arms 6.8mm SPC Tactical Carbine with Samson STAR-C Tactical Rail

By David Crane
defrev at gmail dot com

All photographic images contained in this article were taken by DefenseReview.com at SHOT Show 2008, and they are the exclusive property of DefenseReview.com. DefenseReview.com owns the copyright on these photos.

July 27, 2008

DefenseReview has been been writing about 6.8mm cartridges, lately, so it’s only appropriate that we mention Charlie Cutshaw’s article on the Stag Arms 6.8 SPC (6.8x43mm SPC a.k.a. 6.8mm SPC) 16-inch (16")-barreled carbine in the July 2008 issue of Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement (GWLE). The Stag 6.8 SPC 16" carbine Cutshaw writes about is actually the cover gun of the issue. If you’ve already got a 5.56x45mm NATO (5.56mm NATO)/.223 Rem. carbine (a Stag Model 1, Model 2, Model 2T, or Model 3, for instance) you can convert to 6.8 SPC by simply swapping out the upper receiver. And, if you’re a lefty, Stag Arms has you covered. They can either supply you with a complete Stag Arms 6.8mm SPC lefty (left-handed) carbine, or just a lefty 6.8 replacement upper. When you go from 5.56mm to 6.8mm, you’re going to take a magazine capacity hit of 2-5 rounds, since 6.8mm SPC mags hold anywhere from 25-28 rounds, instead of 30 rounds. Defense Review has used Precision Reflex, Inc. 6.8x43mm SPC mags, which hold 25 rounds.

DefenseReview spent some time at the Stag Arms booth at SHOT Show 2008, and talked to them about the Samson STAR-C Tactical Accessory Rail System free-float Mil-Standard-1913 "Picatinny" rail system/forend rail tube for tactical AR rifles that Stag offers for some of their "T" models (Stag Model 2T and Stag Model 2TL). The Stag personnel we spoke with stated that…

they were very happy with the STAR-series rails on their rifles. Samson Manufacturing manufactures their rails out of 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum that’s hard-coat anodized to MILSPEC (Mil-Spec). The STAR-C rail a.k.a. S-rail (due to the machine cuts being in the shape of an “S” for “Samson”) incorporates an AR-15/M16/M4/M4A1-style takedown pin to allow the user to remove the lower rail (6 o’clock rail) quickly and easily for maintenance or to mount an M203 underbarrel-mounted 40mm grenade launcher. The STAR-C takedown pin is captive, so it won’t get lost.

Cutshaw’s shot 5-shot groups at 50 yards to test accuracy. His best group was 1-inch (1") with Hornady 110-grain (110gr) TAP (Tactical Application Police) ammo. Next best was a 1.25-inch (1.25") group with Silver State Armory (SSA) 115gr BTHP (Boat Tail Hollow Point). He achieved a 1.75-inch (1.75") group with Remington 115gr PSP.